Careem Networks, the cab booking e-service, has signed an agreement with the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) which focuses on training, and providing hands-on experience to 100,000 unemployed youth in the transportation sector.
The agreement was signed between TEVTA Chairperson Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Careem Networks Pakistan CEO Junaid Iqbal at the TEVTA Secretariat, on Thursday to formally initiate the process.
TEVTA will be training 100,000 of unemployed youth for upcoming three years. Training will be carried out at TEVTA institute and cover driving skills, road safety, and basic Arabic language skills. The applicants above 21 years of age and holding a Secondary School Certificate (Matric) would be able to apply and a stipend will also be provided during the training period. After the training, these trained drivers will be employed by Careem in Pakistan or in the Gulf countries, where Careem already has a firm foothold. In the Gulf region, about 85% of Careem drivers belong from Pakistan.
Irfan Qaiser while addressing the ceremony of signing pointed out that TEVTA is signing agreements with companies with national and multi-national reach and is focusing on introducing short demand driven courses. He further said that TEVTA will be training about 3,000 to 5,000 technically sound drivers on the immediate basis.
Junaid Iqbal, CEO Careem Networks, was also present on the occasion and said,
“Our organization will help the successful graduates avail job opportunities at a salary ranging from Rs 22,000 to Rs 25,000 per month.”
TEVTA, recently, trained 62,000 unemployed youth under the Punjab Skills Growth Strategy 2016 in Industry Demand Driven (IDD) courses. This partnership of TEVTA with Careem is of significant importance provided the fact that, Careem has a standing in many areas of the Middle East and Gulf Region including Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca, Dammam, Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Khobar, Kuwait, Rabat, and Riyadh. Many of Pakistanis already work in these countries.